Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Loneliness and social isolation among older adults in a community exercise program: a qualitative study.

Aging & Mental Health 2018 March 16
OBJECTIVES: Loneliness and social isolation (L&SI) are associated with physical and cognitive decline in older adults. Walk 'n' Talk for your Life (WTL) is a community-based program of socialization, health education, falls prevention exercise and walking for community-dwelling older adults. This qualitative study was done to gain further insight into the experience and impacts of the WTL on seniors' L&SI.

METHODS: One-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with sixteen participants who had completed the WTL . Interview questions focused on eliciting a better understanding of how the WTL impacted participants' feelings of L&SI. Content analysis was used to classify the qualitative data .

RESULTS: This qualitative evaluation helped to obtain a richer understanding of WTL participants' reasons for loneliness and the benefits of the program on participants' experience of L&SI. Participants felt WTL helped motivate them to socialize and reduced their feelings of loneliness by providing a sense of 'belonging' which appeared to be mediated by the group exercise/walking component of the program.

DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into participants' experiences of L&SI. Further research in a broader population of older adults is mandated to determine the efficacy of community exercise programs in reducing L&SI.

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app